


Shame and Trust

by katambrosius



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Bondage, Canon Era, Desperation, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Omorashi, Pee, Protective Arthur, Public Humiliation, Season/Series 02, Watersports, Wetting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-12
Updated: 2016-08-12
Packaged: 2018-08-08 08:00:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7749721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katambrosius/pseuds/katambrosius
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>His bladder felt heavy, low in his pelvis, gravity working against him as pee fought its way down to his tip.  This time he squirmed, only a little, a wriggle of his hips, but it drew the attention of the children, now on their fourth time attacking.  It had been hours since Merlin had been locked into the stocks.  It was well past midday, and Merlin was fighting a losing battle. </em>
</p>
<p>As far as punishment went, the stocks weren’t <em>too</em> bad.  Unless one really needed to pee, and it was all Arthur’s fault.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shame and Trust

As far as punishment went, the stocks weren’t _too_ bad. Most of the time. The children of Camelot, and even some of the adults, gained seemingly endless pleasure from pelting the occasional miscreant with rotten fruit and vegetables, but Merlin liked pleasing people, and so the smiles and laughs he was able to witness almost made up for the crick in his neck and the ache in his back and shoulders. _Almost_.

Sometimes the stocks were a lot worse. There were the days when people got nasty, and pelted him with potatoes (as Arthur had said, there were no hard and fast rules), the days when the guards left him in slightly too long, and the days where the teasing was particularly bad. The long hot summer days were awful, and had left Merlin a few times with a nasty sunburn and the beginnings of heat stroke, but nothing, _nothing_ , was worse than a day in the stocks with a full bladder. 

It didn’t happen often, time in the stocks was rarely more than half a day, and thankfully due to his particular circumstances, Merlin was often gifted with foreknowledge of possible punishment. Often it was after a day of saving Arthur or the kingdom, dropping something at a feast, or getting Arthur out of trouble with the king. When that happened, he was always able to relieve himself before his punishment. Unfortunately, there were also times were he was punished for something during the day, and was locked in immediately for varying lengths of time. Like now.

It had been a simple mistake really, and one not entirely his fault. Actually, it had been entirely Arthur’s fault. The prince had been told in a private conversation that he must attend the next council meeting, and had, of course, forgotten to tell Merlin, who in turn didn’t wake him up in time. Uther was not happy, and Arthur had not said a word in the defence of his innocent servant, so Merlin had been sent to the stocks immediately. The problem was that Merlin had woken Arthur late because he had slept late himself, and in his rush to get to Arthur, had neglected to empty his bladder. Now as he waited, hunched over as the children hefted their baskets of rot, the full significance of this little detail came straight to mind.

Merlin really needed to pee, and he had no idea how long he was to be left in the stocks. It was manageable at first, the heavy fullness in his bladder was not ignorable, but perhaps dismissible. He was able to concentrate on other things, like the horrid smell of the fruit slowly soaking his body in their juices, okay, so juice wasn’t the best thing to be thinking about, but soon it became his foremost thought. He _really_ needed to pee. 

Merlin shifted uncomfortably. Worse than needing to pee, was the people around him _knowing_ that he needed to pee, so he resisted the urge to squirm. The way he was bent over meant that he could press his legs together without it looking too odd, and he took full advantage of that, but any movement he made was magnified by the sound of the chains, and the children’s eyes were quick. Merlin remembered all too well how children taunted one another about things like pee. Being rather shy about such things, he had often been the subject of such teasing, and did not wish to repeat the experience. 

A few minutes later, he shifted again, his bladder growing fuller by the second. It spasmed with need rather suddenly, and Merlin jolted slightly, banging the back of his neck on the wooden frame. That would leave a bruise. The children had stopped throwing food at him, but he knew they'd be back. They just needed more ammo, and perhaps a stop to relieve themselves, Merlin’s bladder supplied unhelpfully. Lowering his head, and biting his lip, Merlin again wondered how long he would be kept here, how long he would have to wait. 

His bladder felt heavy, low in his pelvis, gravity working against him as pee fought its way down to his tip. This time he squirmed, only a little, a wriggle of his hips, but it drew the attention of the children, now on their fourth time attacking. It had been hours since Merlin had been locked into the stocks. It was well past midday, and Merlin was fighting a losing battle. 

“Is he _squirming_?” he heard one kid call out in amusement. 

“Yeah, I think he is, think he needs a piss?” Merlin bowed his head to hide his flush, but his ears were clearly visible, and very red.

“Look at him blush, sure he does. How long’s he been there anyway?”

“Hours, I’ve never seen a grown person really need to pee, think he’ll be able to hold it?”

“You haven’t, it happens sometimes in summer, they drink more when it’s hot, and then they get locked up in there with no where to go.” It was an older child speaking, more of a teen really, not too much younger than Merlin himself. “It depends how long they keep him there I s’pose, some make it, others don’t, personally, I hope he doesn’t. It’s always funnier that way.”

The children were quiet for a bit after that, but the peace only lasted as long as Merlin could stay still, and that was very hard to do with a pounding bladder and nowhere to go. His thighs, already pressed tightly, started rubbing together, his hips shifted to one side, and then to the other. No position gave any relief, and to add to his discomfort, his belt was pressing cruelly into his tender abdomen. Even the adults around him started to notice his predicament, and sent him sympathetic looks that only added to the humiliation of the children’s laughter. 

The guard posted next to him seemed to finally notice what was going on, and for a moment, Merlin hoped he might be released, if only briefly, to relieve himself, but he was not. The guard chuckled a bit, and then laughed. He shook his head and went back to surveying the street. Merlin almost gave up then. His bladder hurt _so much_ and the one person who could possibly help him wasn’t going to. Moaning in desperation, he gave in to his body’s demands and twisted his legs together, squirming as much as he could in his restraints. Anything was better than pissing himself in the middle of the street. Even the humiliation of dancing around like a child. 

He’d been desperate to pee for so long, and all he could think about was getting back to his little room in Gaius’ chambers, where his chamber pot was waiting for him, practically beckoning him. He winced as a wave of desperation knocked the breath out of him, and whimpered with need. His body was quivering, and he knew he wouldn't make it unless he was let out to use a pot very, _very_ , soon. 

“He’s actually goin’ ta lose it!” one of the children cried out. 

“Look at him, he’s wriggling like my little sister, and she’s only _three_!”

“Poor boy,” an older woman sighed as she passed. “Doesn’t deserve that, no one does.”

“Cheeky one, that boy,” another refuted, “insults the prince. I’ve heard ‘im.”

“He’s had it coming, but this is cruel. Are they going to let him out? He’s just a child.”

Merlin could hear the voices, as all around him people stopped to watch him struggle. He was sure many of them didn’t want him to suffer, but they were still making it worse. _Go away_ , he begged them silently, _leave me to disgrace myself in peace, I don’t need you watching_. Merlin knew he was on the edge, he was about to soak himself completely in his own piss. As if to confirm his thoughts, a single drop escaped, soaking into his smallclothes. It was quickly followed by a longer dribble. 

Nothing was visible yet, and Merlin could hardly squirm more than he was already, so no one knew, but his secret wouldn’t last. A spurt escaped, this one leaving a wet patch on his crotch, his position making it seep through the front of his tunic. Gasps ran through the crowd, and the children pointed and giggled. Merlin strained with all his might to control his bladder, and he was almost too far gone to hear the disturbance, but Arthur’s voice was hard to not recognise.

“What’s going on here?” The crowd parted for the prince, and he strode to Merlin’s side. Merlin nearly cried out in both relief and humiliation. Surely Arthur would set him free, but he was so desperate, he couldn’t last more than a few seconds. Merlin’s squirming body more than gave Arthur all the information he needed, and he hurriedly pulled the key off his belt, unlocking the stocks himself. Glaring at the posted guard, he snarled. “Why the devil haven’t you let him out? You will wait right here, and I will be back.”

Arthur helped Merlin out of the stocks, wrapping an arm around his waist to support him, but the pressure was too much, and Merlin’s body gave in. He fell to his knees with a cry, and Arthur could only stand helplessly as a puddle spread out beneath him. Merlin peed and peed, Arthur was shocked that someone so small could hold so much liquid inside him. Merlin just sobbed, his shoulders shaking as he cried from relief and humiliation. For a while there was silence, the crowd didn’t react except to stare, no one wanted to upset the prince. 

“You, give me your cloak, and go to the barracks.” he said to the guard. “I will deal with you later.” Crouching down, he placed a hand on Merlin’s shoulder. “Merlin, come on, get up.” He took the cloak and wrapped it around his servant’s shoulders, pulling him up by his arm and away from the scene. Merlin kept his head down, humiliated beyond belief and what had just happened, and let Arthur steer him away. 

Surprisingly, it was not Gaius’ chambers that he was taken to, but Arthur’s, and they took the least used route. Arthur led Merlin behind the changing screen, and placed a large empty washing basin next to him. 

“Take those clothes off, I’ll have Gaius send up some fresh ones, and for what it’s worth, I’m sorry. This should never have happened.” Arthur really did sound sorry, and Merlin almost smiled, but his shame was too great, and he hung his head and nodded. Arthur left him to undress, and called for a servant to prepare a bath. Merlin stood behind the screen, wrapped in the guards cloak and shivering. He still needed to pee, but he was too embarrassed to ask, besides, he had let a fair amount out, so he should be able to hold it for a while.

The bath came quickly, Arthur had several servants heat the water and carry the buckets up, meaning it went a lot faster than when Merlin prepared it on his own. Merlin was shaking violently by the time it was ready, the autumn air was cold, and there was no fire in the hearth. Finally, the servants left, and Arthur led Merlin to the bath, taking the cloak from him and helping him in. Merlin should have been embarrassed at Arthur seeing him naked, but after watching him wet himself, he wasn’t all that fussed, besides, he was usually the one preparing Arthur, and had seen him plenty of times, so it wasn’t _too_ awkward. 

What Merlin didn’t count on was the bath water reminding his still aching bladder that it wasn’t yet empty. He clenched his muscles as the water flowed over his abdomen, teasing the liquid within. He tried to sit still, to avoid the splashing, but Arthur passed him a cloth, and it would have been odd for him to just sit there. 

Thankfully Arthur busied himself elsewhere in the room, giving Merlin some sense of privacy, and was deliberately not paying attention. This meant he didn’t notice the way Merlin’s thighs shook as they pressed together, or the way his hand gripped his crotch under the water. If only he could just magic his piss into his chamber pot. He’d moved water like that before, but the risk of moving something from inside his own body was far too great, and he resisted the temptation. He focused on getting clean, the sooner he was clean, the sooner he could run to his chambers. 

There was a knock on the door, and Arthur opened it a crack to let someone pass a bag through. As the prince placed the bag of clothes behind the screen, he noticed Merlin’s subtle squirming and frowned. 

“Are you okay Merlin?” When directly asked, Merlin found he couldn’t lie, not when his need was so great.

“No,” he moaned miserably, “I still need to relieve myself, I didn’t let it all out.” Arthur tilted his head and grimaced sympathetically, and went over closer.

“Are you finished washing?” Merlin nodded. “Come on, let’s get you out and dry. I won’t make you walk back to your room, you can use my chamber pot.”

Merlin could hardly believe his ears, and quickly stood up, but the sloshing of the water had his hands buried in his crotch. He squirmed in his place, and cried out as Arthur backed away, he couldn’t move on his own, not now, but Arthur came back, carrying a chamber pot. Placing it on the ground next to the bath, he pulled one of Merlin’s arms away and wrapped in around his neck, placing his own arm beneath the younger man’s knees. He lifted him out of the bath and placed him on his feet, where he promptly fell to his knees. 

Arthur dropped down beside him, pulling the pot closer and sitting it in front of Merlin’s knees, where they where tightly squeezed together. He put his hand to Merlin’s back, rubbing in circles. “It’s okay Merlin, you can let go now, you don’t have to wait anymore.” He kept rubbing and whispering reassurances while his servant sat up slightly, and leaned forward. He looked away while Merlin pissed, but his hand never stopped moving, and when Merlin’s bladder was finally, mercifully, empty, he leaned into the touch, and curled into Arthur’s side, seeking comfort that for once, the prince was actually willing to give. 

Arthur pulled the discarded cloak over, and again wrapped it around Merlin’s exhausted, shaking form. When Merlin was covered, he pulled the boy into a hug, and let him sob into his shoulder. They stayed that way for a while, and all the time, Arthur’s guilt grew. It was completely his fault, and he knew it. He had forgotten to tell Merlin to wake him earlier, and then not defended him. Furthermore, he had completely forgotten to have Merlin released earlier, because he had been busy flirting with Gwen, of all things! 

His manservant, his responsibility, no, he was lying to himself again. Merlin, his friend, his _best friend_ , had suffered, and it was his fault. If Merlin wanted reassurance and comfort for the rest of the afternoon and into the night, then he sure as hell was going to provide it. Merlin didn’t though, he just needed a good cry, and to go to bed early. So when he pulled away, Arthur let him go without a word, getting up to sit on the bed while Merlin dressed. 

Merlin didn’t look at him on his way out, too ashamed, but he paused by the door. 

“Thank you.” 

Arthur blinked as the door clicked shut. He had barely heard Merlin’s softly whispered words, but he could feel the deep level of gratitude and trust in them. He didn’t deserve Merlin’s trust, not after today, but he still had it, and that made him smile. Arthur didn’t get much done that evening, he couldn’t get the picture of Merlin’s soft smile off his mind, and he didn’t really want to. He wanted to see it again, and he swore then and there, as he slipped between his sheets that night, that he would treat Merlin better, and make him smile for real. Merlin would know that they were friends.


End file.
